Chester h



C. H. BEACH.

SEWING MACHINE MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30. 1915.

1,382,162, PatentedJune 21, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHESTER H. BEACH, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO WISCONSIN ELECTRICCOMPANY, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

SEWING-MACHINE MOTOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER H. BEACH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Racine, Racine county. Wisconsin, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Motors, of which the following isa full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in small, portable, electricmotors, adapted particularly for operating sewing machines.

One object of the invention is to provide a light, compact motor adaptedto rest on the table-top of a sewing machine without permanentfastenings, and to drive the hand wheel of the machine by frictionalengagement therewith.

Another object is to provide a portable motor of such size that it maybe placed on the table-top of a sewing machine with its friction drivingwheel beneath and in direct engagement with the handwheel of themachine.

A further object is to provide a motor which is movable with respect toits supporting base and arranged so that its driving wheel exerts anupward pressure against the hand wheel of the machine. therebymaintaining the necessary frictional contact.

A further object is to provide a motor which may be reversed end to endon its supporting base. whereby the direction of rotation of itsarmature shaft with respect to said base may be reversed. withoutchanging the electrical connections,

further object is to provide an electric motor with an armature shaftadapted to have a driving pulley mounted on either end thereof. wherebywhen the motor is turned end to end on its base, the driving end of theshaft may always be at the same end of the base.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear without specificenumeration.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown sei'eral embodiments of theinvention. which will serve to illustrate its main features. Theinvention may be embodied in various other forms, however.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of motor and associated parts.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patent d J n 21, 1921.

Application filed September 30, 1915.

Serial No. 53,232.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same motor reversed with respect toits base, whereby it drives in a reverse direction.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the supporting base.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of the device.

Fig. 5 is a partial top plan view of the supporting base thereof.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation thereof.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section on the line 77 of Fig. 1.

The electric motor 1, illustrated in the various figures, is of small,compact construction and is light in weight, whereby it may be readilyhandled. It is completely inclosed at both ends, from which ends bossesproject. The armature shaft is provided with reduced ends 3, whichproject beyond said bosses and each of which carries a small pin 4,which passes diametrically through it. projecting at both ends.

In Fig. 1. the left hand end of the armature shaft has mounted thereon adriving pulley 5, which may be made of rubber or other material adaptedto maintain good frictional driving contact with the hand wheel 6 of asewing machine or other driven wheel. The pulley is carried by asuitable hub 7, having a cylindrical extension 8 at one end which isslotted so that when said hub is slipped over the end of the armatureshaft the slots receive the projecting ends of the pin 4. therebylocking the pulley against rotation about said shaft. Said pulley isheld in place on the shaft by means of a scrcwtln'caded stem 9. having aknurled head 10. whereby it may be screwed into a threaded opening inthe end of the armature shaft. Vl'ith the construction described thepulley may be quickly applied to or removed from the end of the armatureshaft.

At the right hand end of said shaft, a cap 11 is provided. which hasscrew-threaded engagement with the inner wall of the bos both bossespreviously mentioned, being intcriorly screw-threaded. as shown. The capll is out of contact with the end of the shaft and with the pin 4,whereby unnecessary friction is avoided when the shaft is rotating. Theright hand end of the shaft is also provided with a screw-threadedopening, similar to that at the left hand end. From the constructionthus far described, it will be seen that the pulley 5 may be appliedequally well to the right hand end ofthe shaft, and the cap 11 may befitted equally well over the left hand thereof. The position of thepulley and cap may therefore be reversed, for a purpose hereinafterdescribed.

The lower part of the motor frame is provided with a flat surface 12, asshown in Fig. 7, and has a screw-threaded opening 13 therethrough, whichreceives a hollow bushing 1 1 having a knurled head. Said bushing servesto clamp the motor to a supporting plate .15, and surrounds the flexiblecord conductor 16. The supporting plate 15 is provided with a projection17, preferably struck up from the metal, which projection is adapted tofit within either of two recesses 18, 19, in said frame. lVith the mo--tor as shown in Fig. 1, said projection is received within the righthand opening as seen in Fig. 7. By loosening the clamping bushing 14,however, the motor frame may be reversed with respect to its supportingplate 15, whereby the recess 19 is brought over the projection 17,instead of the recess 18. The projection 17 serves therefore not only todetermine the proper position of the motor frame with respect to thesupporting plate 15 in either of its two positions, but serves alsoinconjunction with the bushing 14c to positively lock the parts againstaccidental turning.

The plate 15 constitutes'part of the supporting base and is hinged abouta pin 20 carried by an arm 21, made by doubling over a strip of metal,one end of which extends to the right, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, toform a supporting leg 22, and the other end of which is brought forwardas an arm 23, riveted at 24 to a transverse strip of metal 25,constituting two additional supporting legs. The motor is thereforesupported in stable equilibrium on three legs, the ends of which areprovided with rubher pads 26, or suitable equivalent means to preventmarring the polished table-top 27 of the sewing machine.

The hinge connection between the plate 15 and the rest of the supportingbase permits the motor ordinarily to tilt downward until it rests on thehigh arched portion of the leg 22, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.The pivot pin 20 is arranged considerably to one side of the center ofgravity of the motor to insure this tilting action. In positioning themotor for use, the base is so located on the table-top as to permit thepulley 5 to bear upwardly against the lowermost portion of the handwheel 6, the motor being tilted forward by hand to whatever extent isnecessary to bring the driving pulley 5 beneath the hand wheel and intoposition. The motor thereafter tends to tilt back to its normalposition, this return thereby insuring that the motor will remain whereplaced regardless of vibration and without any positive fastening meanswhatever, although auxiliary fastenings may be employed, if desired, ifthere is no occasion to remove the motor after it is once put into use.

The motor is preferably one which will operate either on direct oralternating current, and, therefore cannot be easily reversed. Allsewing machines do not have the same direction of rotation of the handwheel however, and hence it is desirable to have a 1nd tor which isadapted to drive either way to render it suitable for use with anymachine. In order to obtain the advantages or a motor which will operateon either D. O. or A. C. circuits and which will also drive the handwheel in either direction, I arrange my motor so that by virtue of theconstruction previously described, its position with repect to thesupporting base may be reversed. To illustrate this feature, attentionis directed to Fig. 2 in which the motor frame has been reversed end toend on the supporting base with respect to its position in Fig. 1. Thearmature rotates in tie same direction with respect to the frame, butsaid rotation is reversed with respect to the base. Since the pulleywould be at the wrong end of the armature shaft in this new position,and hence out of engagement with the hand wheel 6, I provide thepreviously described arrangement whereby said pulley and the cap 11 maybe made to change places. In Fig. 2 therefore, the pulley is on theopposite end of the armature shaft from what it is in Fig. 1, andlikewise the cap. lVit-hout changing the electric connection in any waytherefore, I am enabled to drive the hand wheel in either direction, asshown by the arrows in Figs. land 2. The reason the motor and base arenot turned as a unit is that the pedestal which supports the hand- Thelower end of the s ring is received within channels 30, forme on thesides of a base plate 31, said base plate bein secured to a lateral arm32, over which slides a second arm 33. The motor is thereby providedwith a supporting base, consisting of three legs, radiating from acommon point, as in the first construction described, which legs rest onthe table-top and serve to hold the motor in place. In order to furthersecure the base, however, said arms 32, 33, are drawn toward each otherby a spring 34, connected to posts 35, 36 thereon, the outer ends, 37,38 of said arms bein bent downwardly to roject into the ho es 39 in thetable-top, tirough which the driving belt ordinarily passes. These armstherefore serve to positively position the motor base with respect tothe table-top, although I do not limit myself to this construction, asthe friction between the base and the table-top is considerable, due tothe action of the spring. The holes 39 are in the same vertical plane asthe alley 40, associated with the hand wheel. 11 some sewing machines,the pulley is on the opposite side of the hand wheel from what is shownin Fig. 4 and the belt holes are correspondingly displaced. To providefor this, the spring 28 may be adjusted with respect to the base 31, sothat the driving pulley may be properly positioned regardless of thelocation of the belt holes 39. To clamp the base and the springtogether, I provide a nut 41 and a stud 42,

' the latter being carried by the base plate 31 and projecting through aslot 43 in the spring 28.

The function of the spring is to hold the driving pulley against thehand wheel with a yielding pressure which not only insures the necessaryfrictional contact, but which also permits the pulley to be loweredbeneath the hand wheel when the base is being positioned on thetable-top. It further permits the pulley to be drawn away from the handwheel by means of a cord 44, when it is desired to stop the machinewithout stopping the motor. This is the position of the motor as shownin full lines in Fig. 4. Said cord is secured to the free end of thespring 28 and passes through a pair of eyelets 45, 46. and thence downthrough the hole 39 to the foot treadle of the sewing machine, wherebythe operator may control the machine by pressure on said treadle. Whenthe pressure is relaxed, the motor assumes the dotted line position. Themotor with the hinge connections shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may becontrolled in like manner, if desired. by tilting it. although I preferto control both forms of motor by a rheostat, operated by the pressureof the foot. A rheostat, especially adapted for this purpose isdescribed in my Patent No. 1,201,921. Although the motors are shown astilted back slightly in driving position, they may of course behorizontal or assume some other angle, within reasonable limits,depending on the height of the hand wheel above the table-top and onother factors.

With the construction shown in Fig. l, the motor may rest on a tablehaving two different levels with the motor shaft substantiallyhorizontal. In both forms of the device, the tilting of the motor withrespect to its base permits the motor to engage and drive hand wheelsarranged at different heights above the table top thereby ada ting themotor to sewing machines of di erent types.

It is apparent that some of the various features described areindependent of the others. For example, the feature of yielding upwardpressure against the hand Wheel need not necessarily be accompanied bythe feature of reversing the motor and the pulley on the armature shaft,and conversely said reversible devices are applicable to motors otherthan those yieldingly mounted. Furthermore, I do not desire to limitmyself to the particular type of spring mounting shown in Fig. 4, sincevarious other arrangements may be devised for accomplishing the sameresults. aside from the substitution of the weight of the motor for aspring, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It is apparent therefore, that theinvention may be embodied in various different forms. other than thoseillustrated herein, and I desire to cover such modified constructionswherever they fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described, an electric motor having afriction driving wheel on its armature shaft, a driven wheel adjacentsaid friction wheel, a. supporting base. and a spring engaging said baseand said motor to support the latter and hold said driving wheel inyielding engagement with said driven wheel.

2. The combination with a sewing machine motor. of a supporting basetherefo and means detachably securing said motor to said base. in eitherof two positions of relative reversal.

3. sewing machine motor having an armature shaft and a pulley arrangedto fit over and having a driving connection with either end of saidarmature shaft.

4. A sewing machine motor having an armature shaft protruding from bothends thereof. a driving pulley adapted to fit over either end of saidarmature shaft and a cap arranged to inclose either end of said shaft.

A sewing machine motor having an armature shaft provided with a pin ateach end. a driving pulley having a slitted sleeve arranged to fit overeither end of said shaft and cooperate with said pins, and a caparranged to be secured directly to said motor and inclose either end ofsaid armature shaft without contacting therewith.

6. In combination, a sewing machine motor having an armature shaft, a.supporting base therefor, means permitting reversal of said motor withrespect to said base, and a driving pulley arranged to fit either end ofsaid shaft.

7. In combination, a sewing machine motor having an armature shaft, a.supporting base therefor, means permitting reversalof said motor withrespect to said base, and a driving pulley arranged to fit either end ofsaid shaft, said motor being tiltable with respect to said base.

8. A sewing machine motor, consisting of a frame having hollow endbosses interiorly screw-threaded, an armature having reduced endsprojecting from said bosses, and a cap arranged to have screw-threadedengagement with ither of said bosses to inclose either end of said.armature shaft without contacting with the latter.

9. In a device of the class described, an electric motor having afriction driving wheel on its armature shaft, a driven wheel adjacentsaid friction wheel, a supporting base and a flat spring cooperatingwith said base and with said motor to hold said driv ing wheel inyielding engagement with said driven wheel.

10. A, sewing machine motor comprising a motor and a U-shaped springsupporting said motor.

11. A device of the class described comprising an electric motor, a basemember, and a U-shaped spring secured to said base member and supportingsaid motor.

12. A device of the class described comprising an electric motor, a basemember, a U-shaped spring secured to said base member and supportingsaid motor, and belt hole projections on said base member.

The combination with a sewing ma-.

chine having a head and a table provided with belt holes therein, of anelectric motor for driving said head and having a base resting on saidtable, means projecting into one of said belt holes to position saidbase, and means permitting relative adjustment of said motor withrespect to said base in a direction substantially at right angles to theline connecting said belt holes to aline said motor with said head.

14. The combination, with a sewing machine having a hand wheel and apulley atone sid thereof, of a table provided with belt holes therein inthe plane of said pulley, an electric motor having a friction wheel toengage said hand wheel to drive the latter, a base resting on said tabletop, means associated with said base projecting int-o one of said beltholes to positionv said base, and means permitting relative adjustmentof said motor with respect to said base to permit said friction wheel toengage said-1 hand wheel with said belt holes located on. either side ofthe plane of said hand wheel.

15. A sewing machine motor comprising a base having guides, a motor, asupporting element therefor having sliding engagement with said guides,and means for locking said supporting element to said base.

16. A sewing machine motor'comprisinga motor having belt holeprojections, a channel member projecting at right angles thereto, aU-shaped spring, one end of which fits within said channel member and amotor secured to. the other end of said spring.

17. A sewing machine motor comprising a base, a U-shaped spring, one armof which is secured to said base, an electric motor secured to the otherarm of said. spring and. a cord alsosecured to said other arm wherebythe ends of said spring may be drawn toward each other.

18.. A sewing machine motor comprising a supporting 'base, an electricmotor resting thereon, said motor having an opening in the casing whichregisters with an opening in said base, a projection on one of saidmembers cooperating with one of a plurality of recesses in the other ofsaid members and an insulating bushing passing through said registeringopenings and securing said motor to said base in any one of a pluralityof positions.

19.v The combination with a sewing machine having a base portion, aframe portion and a wheel to be driven, of an arm secured to themachine,- a motor having a driving wheel to frictionally engage saiddriven wheel, a second arm carrying said motor and movable withreference to said'first' arm, and means for yieldingly' holding saidmotor wheel against said driven wheel.

20. The combination with a sewing machine having a base portion, a frameportion and a wheel to be driven, of an arm secured to the machine, amotor having a driving wheel to frictionally engage said driven wheel, asecond arm carrying said motor and movable with reference to said firstarm, means for yieldingly holding said motor wheel against said drivenwheel, and means for moving said motor closer to said base portion andcausing the disengagement of said wheels.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name, this 27day ofSeptember,

CHESTER H. BEACH. Vitnesses L. B. AUGUSTINE, JACOB K. OLSON.

